Gwen for governor in 2019?

CEBU 3rd District Rep. Gwendolyn “Gwen” Garcia yesterday announced she was seriously considering running again for governor of Cebu in next year’s midterm elections.

Garcia, who was a three- term governor (2004-2013), made the announcement at the sidelines of the launching of the “Cebu is Go,” a movement to urge Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher “Bong” Go to run for a Senate seat in 2019.

If Garcia decides to run for governor, it will be a return bout with Gov. Hilario Davide III, who is now serving his second term as governor and is expected to seek a third and final term.

Davide lost to Garcia in the 2010 gubernatorial race but the former won against Garcia’s brother, Pablo John, the then outgoing representative of Cebu’s 3rd District, in the 2016 contest for governor.

Garcia revealed she has already chosen a running mate, but she refused to reveal the identity of her prospective vice gubernatorial candidate. Garcia, who heads the local party One Cebu, is now a member of the ruling PDP-Laban party.

Only last February, Garcia was ordered dismissed from service by the Office of the Ombudsman for grave misconduct in connection with the landfill contract of the equally controversial purchase of a coastal property in Balili, Naga City, that was found to be partly submerged in sea water.

Garcia is contesting the ruling. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, on the other hand, has refused to implement Garcia’s dismissal order as it pertained to the past position she held and not with her elective post in the House of Representatives, where she is now the Deputy Speaker.

Garcia yesterday said she has been visiting different places in the province lately and was being urged to run again for governor by the people she met.
“I’m still wondering why people are still calling me governor, even if I’m already a congresswoman in the 3rd district. Don’t they know that Cebu already have a new governor?” she said.

While she was also considering reelection in the House of Representatives, she would also want to get back at the helm of the province, as she was saddened that Cebu’s ranking in the National Competitiveness Council index has dropped to 45th place under Davide’s leadership.

She said that when she stepped down as governor in 2013, Cebu was number one in the competitiveness ranking. But after a year, in 2014, it again dropped in rank to third. “Then in 2015, Cebu falls to 35th rank while in 2016, we’re already at 45th rank,” she added.

She also criticized Davide for the deterioration of the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC), which was built for nearly P1 billion, and its subsequent sale to the city government of Mandaue; for the alleged disrepair of the provincial roads; and the controversies in the bidding of equipment and issuance of quarry permits, among others.

Exciting race

Mayors in Cebu allied with Garcia’s One Cebu party welcomed the prospect of her running again for governor.

“Nalipay mi niana. Kay sa pagkatinuoray lang wala niya pasagdi ang iyang distrito. Mura gihapon siya among gobernador (That will make us happy. Honestly, she took care of her district like she is still the governor),” said Asturias Mayor Jose Antonio Pintor.

Moalboal Mayor Inocentes Cabaron said he welcomed this development, adding that a Garcia-Davide fight for governor would make the 2019 gubernatorial race exciting.

Among the mayors in the 3rd District, Pintor said that only Tuburan Mayor Democrito Diamante is not an ally of Garcia.

But Diamante said he would support the candidate who would be endorsed by his party, PDP-Laban.

Pintor revealed that prior to Garcia’s announcement yesterday, he and the other mayors allied with the congresswoman already learned she was seriously considering a gubernatorial run in 2019.

Asked if he knew about Garcia’s running mate, Pintor said there is a possibility that it would be Cebu’s 4th District Rep. Benhur Salimbangon, as this is now Salimbangon’s last term in the district.

Cebu Daily News tried to reach Salimbangon for his reaction but to no avail.

‘Cebu is Go’ launching

Meanwhile, the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), together with majority of Cebu’s mayors, other politicians and different support groups, launched yesterday the “Cebu is Go” movement that urged SAP Christopher “Bong” Go to run for senator in 2019.

OPAV Secretary Michael Dino, who organized the activity, said it was important that President Rodrigo Duterte will have allies in the Senate like Go who will support his programs and agenda.

“We are encouraging him to run and for him to hear the clamor for his candidacy as senator this coming election because he already knew the problems in the localities,” Dino said.

He said that aside from the brain, Go also has the heart to serve the Filipinos.

“Now you may be very smart but if you don’t have a heart for the country, for the Filipinos, for the Cebuanos or for the Bisaya, then it’s useless. But with Bong Go there, he has the brain and he has the heart,” he added.

Dino added he was 100 percent sure that Go would win should he decide to run for senator.

Garcia, who was in the launching to show her support for Go, applauded the positive reaction of the Cebuanos to the “Cebu is Go” movement.

She said she appreciated Go’s loyalty to the President and the trust that Mr. Duterte has entrusted to him: “He is not ambitious and he really has the respect of the President.”

The launching, which was held at Orange Karenderia located in Juana Osmeña St., Cebu City, was preceded by a motorcade participated by President Duterte’s supporters in Cebu, mainly those from PDP-Laban, which is now the dominant political party in Cebu.